Exploring the Influence of Mass Media on American Culture and Society

This essay discusses the major developments in mass media over the last century and their influence on American culture. It begins by outlining the shift from print media to radio, television, and eventually the internet and social media, emphasizing how each development reshaped communication and information access. The essay highlights the impact of these changes on American society, including faster communication, broader access to information, and the rise of media literacy as a critical skill. It also addresses the concept of media convergence, where various media forms merge into single devices, and how this convergence has streamlined everyday life by consolidating tools and enhancing convenience. The essay concludes by underscoring the significant role mass media plays in shaping American culture and the importance of understanding its evolution and impact.

Running head: INFLUENCE OF MASS MEDIA ON AMERICAN CULTURE
INFLUENCE OF MASS MEDIA ON AMERICAN CULTURE
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INFLUENCE OF MASS MEDIA ON AMERICAN CULTURE
What were the major developments in the evolution of mass media during the last century?
During the beginning of the century, the media consisted of various print media such as
newspaper and magazines. With the evolution of time the mass media has major developments.
At the beginning of the century the print media had predominated in the media market and had
no major competitors. The entire world relied upon the printed media for news and the world
events. The newspapers, magazines, radio and television were the media people depended upon
for the news, events and other information (Anderson, 2013). Later on television had dominated
the world mass media market that provided to the people from all across the world. During the
later part of the last century there had been a major development of the mass media, with time
internet becomes a major platform to connect people from around the globe and transfer
messages into seconds. The conception of the internet majorly allowed people to present their
own views and opinions on the internet. Internet and social media has become the link to share
information to the entire mass within moments (Flew & Liu, 2016). Apart from sharing events
and information, it allowed the people to access wide range of sources to the information and
gather knowledge. Further, internet and social media has completely brought evolution in the
mass media. From having to rely upon the print media and the television to get information to
typing on the computer, the development of internet has revolutionized the mass media.
How did each development influence American culture?
The development of mass media has evolved greatly during the last century and it
continuously develops over the time. The development of mass media has highly influenced the
culture of the America. The reach of the new emerging media can be endless. Previously it was

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the culture of America to communicate orally. The knowledge and the information was slowly
spread and from the word of mouth. The American depended on the teachers and the story tellers
to gain knowledge and information. Eventually with the evolution of print media, television and
radio communications could be done faster (Graber, & Dunaway, 2017). The last century
brought huge revolution o mass media that is electronic media, internet. With the development of
the digital era, blogs and websites earned their position allowed people to communicate over
internet. However, the online media and accessing information online have allowed to companies
to make less use of employees. Media literacy is highly important for the media consumption is
different ways. A person has to be aware of the information that is distributed online. It has to
overcome to difficult of filtering false information to true and relevant facts. The development of
mass media is an important factor for the growth of American society and culture. The people
can indulge themselves in accessing various information that’s circulates. Therefore, it is evident
that development of mass media influences the American culture in many ways.
What is meant by the term media convergence, and how has it affected everyday life?
The term media convergence implies the idea in which various types of media such as
internet, radio, television, newspaper and come together as one single media. The various media
operate together in synergy (Wimmer & Dominick, 2013). The convergence can be a person’s
cell phone or computer,, the device allows the person to do various activities such as clicking
photographs, editing, and modifying the picture. It can be used for sending mails, chatting and
accessing information. The convergence of mass media can be said as a merger of all the various
types of mass media and the communication tools and software. In other words it can be said,
multi utility of a particular device or media. This attributes to be convergence. With the

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development of media and advantage of technology a single devices can have maximum number
of media converged into in. the convergence is significant effect on the everyday life. Media
convergence impacts the everyday life. It has eased the work and effort of the people. The
converged media has replaced the slow performing tools like pen and typewriters. The work of
the offices and other companies has become convenient. It has reduced the work efforts of every
individual (Phillips, 2014).

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References
Anderson, A. (2013). Media, culture and the environment. Routledge.
Flew, T., & Liu, B. R. (2016). Media convergence. In Postcolonial Studies Meets Media Studies:
A Critical Encounter (pp. 25-42). Transcript Verlag.
Graber, D. A., & Dunaway, J. (2017). Mass media and American politics. Cq Press.
Katz, E., Lazarsfeld, P. F., & Roper, E. (2017). Personal influence: The part played by people in
the flow of mass communications. Routledge.
Phillips, A. (2014). Journalism in context: Practice and theory for the digital age. Routledge.
Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2013). Mass media research. Cengage learning.